There have been years when the Primetime Emmy Awards telecast was full of surprises and unexpected winners, and until the last minute, this show wasn’t one of them. As the experts predicted, “Shogun” came out on top, setting records for the most wins ever for drama and comedy, respectively. As hosts Eugene and Dan Levy also noted in their opening joke, “Shogun” had set a Creative Arts Emmy record with 14 wins, and it only extended that record with four wins on Sunday. “The Bear” achieved its record despite the only real shock of the night: losing out on Best Comedy to “Hacks”!
Meanwhile, the Emmys have managed to score some unexpected wins — in one case, one of them went to “The Bear.” Here are those wins.
Comedy won Best Comedy for “The Bear.”
Given that “The Bear” won seven Emmys at the Creative Emmy Awards earlier in September, the smart money — and even the dumb money — would have been on the FX series to win best comedy series for the second year in a row. Instead, in one of the biggest Emmy upsets in recent memory, “Hacks” won in that category.
Perhaps a significant factor in the vote was that “Hacks” regularly makes its audience laugh, while “The Bear,” despite its many commendable qualities, treats laughter as a rare and expensive spice. It also probably didn’t help that season 2 debuted in June 2023, nearly 14 months before voting began, meaning the poorly received season 3, which premiered in June 2024, was fresher in voters’ minds. Meanwhile, season 3 of “Hacks” was its strongest yet.
The upset was probably expected when “Bulletproof,” the final episode of “Hacks” season three, beat out “Fishes,” the critically acclaimed episode of “The Bear” season two that chronicles the worst Christmas dinner ever. Still, given the sheer power of “The Bear,” and how much people love “Fishes” within the pantheon, it seemed like a good bet to win in the comedy writing category (as it did in its first season). Still, “Bulletproof,” written by “Hacks” writers Gene Statsky, Lucia Aniello and Paul W. Downs, ended up winning — perhaps because it shows how much Max can come across as a comedian, swinging from a hilarious scene on a plane to the twist ending where Ava (Hannah Einbinder) blackmails Deborah (Jen Smart) into getting the job she wants. (But “Fish” didn’t miss out: “Bear” director Christopher Storer won an Emmy for directing it later in the ceremony.)
However, Hax's victory over Bear in the first category is a huge shock. Someone better keep an eye on Karmi!
Deputy Wit Farr defeats Iron Man!
Lamorne Morris seemed genuinely surprised to land a role on Noah Hawley’s latest season of “Fargo,” and we were all: thrilled. Morris, who is best known as a comedic actor, shines in his role as a serious deputy who forms an unlikely bond with kidnapped housewife Dot Lyon (Juno Temple): First, she saves his life, then he saves hers. It’s amazing! Morris brings depth and heart to his role as Wit Farr, and he’s now been rewarded for it. This was a tough category, too, as recent Oscar winner and movie megastar Robert Downey Jr. was the favorite of the night for playing multiple roles in HBO’s limited series “Sympathizer.”
Lisa Colon-Zayas from 'The Bear' beats out Hannah Einbinder and Meryl Streep
While the male nominees from “Bear” — Jeremy Allen White and Ebon Moss-Bachrach — were clear winners from the get-go, the two actresses from FX’s “Restaurant or Comedy” were largely unheralded by experts. While Ayo Edebiri couldn’t beat “Hacks” star Jean Smart in the lead role category, veteran actress Lisa Colon-Zayas stunned audiences with her unexpected win over favorite Hannah Einbinder of “Hacks,” not to mention national treasures Meryl Streep (“Only Murders in the Building”) and Carol Burnett (“Palm Royale”).
'The Traitors' Knocks Out 'RuPaul's Drag Race' From Reality Competition Category
For five of the past six years, “Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls” has only succeeded in weakening “RuPaul’s Drag Race’s” grip on the reality competition genre — until this year, when the second season of Peacock’s delicious series “The Traitors” managed to dethrone “Drag Race.” The win was foretold last weekend at the Creative Arts Emmys, when “The Traitors” host Alan Cumming — who delights audiences in every episode, while also delivering Scottish swagger — won the award for reality competition host, breaking RuPaul Charles’ eight-year winning streak on “Drag Race.”
Season two of “Traitors” — which premiered on Peacock in January, streamed weekly, and gained momentum over time — was simply undeniable. The show had it all, from the charm of Bravo star Phaedra Parks (“Oh my God, sweet baby Jesus, not Iken-so”) to the evil eye of “Survivor” Parvati Solo — to the surprise winners at the end, “Traitors” was the phenomenon of the year.
Lizzo’s win at last year’s “Big Grrrls” competition was a fluke, and the show is unlikely to return. But “The Traitors” will remain as an annual event, giving “Drag Race” its only formidable competitor in years. (Pulls opera glasses to eyes): We can’t wait to see how this competition ends.
Craven Network CEO Billy Crudup defeats an unscrupulous warlord Tadanobu Asano.
Although “Shogun” was an unstoppable force on Sunday night, one of the show’s best performances — Tadanobu Asano as the morally bankrupt and charming Yabushige — missed out on the best supporting actor in a drama category. Instead, “The Morning Show”’s Billy Crudup won for his hilariously over-the-top portrayal of network executive Corey Ellison in the show’s third season. (Typical Corey quote: “Alex Levy is Lazarus, which makes me Jesus. Except I live in more houses seven days a week.”)
This was Crudup's second Emmy for his portrayal of Cory, having already won for the show's first season in 2020. (In season two, Crudup was also nominated, but lost to Matthew Macfadyen of Succession, his first of two Emmys.)
“Slow Horses” Outperforms “Shogun” in Writing
Of the many overwhelming features of “Shogun,” arguably the most impressive is its writing: It was written first in English, then translated into Japanese through an incredibly complex and multifaceted process. Perhaps this cinematic game of telephone seemed too scattered to be honored to some voters, or perhaps more voters were simply enthralled by the spy drama set in a puzzle box on Apple TV+. Whatever the reason, “Slow Horses” creator Will Smith (not that creator!) winning over “Shogun” writers Rachel Kondo, Justin Marks, and Caelynn Ponti was a surprise. The moment provided this wonderful line from Smith: “First of all, relax. Despite my name, I come in peace.”
“Last Week Tonight” and “The Daily Show” are unstoppable.
Since 2003, only three shows have won in either the variety or talk show category: “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” (and once, the version hosted by Trevor Noah), “The Colbert Report,” a spinoff of “The Daily Show,” and the spiritual “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver,” a spinoff of “The Daily Show.” That’s it!
Then at the previous Emmys, the Television Academy moved “Last Week Tonight” into the new variety series category, because “Last Week Tonight” isn’t technically a talk show, competing with “Saturday Night Live,” which had the variety series category that was recently eliminated. At the 2022-23 Emmys — when there was even the slightest pretense of competition with the inclusion of the final season of “A Black Lady Sketch Show” — “Last Week Tonight” proved its victor. History repeated itself at the 2023-24 Emmys, even on the heels of one of the strongest “Saturday Night Live” seasons in recent memory.
Meanwhile, “The Daily Show” (now hosted by five people, including Stewart) won again in the variety talk show category, beating out long-awaited nominees like “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
This may be an unsolvable problem in the current TV landscape, but there has to be a better way than to cram two specific shows into one blanket category, while another one outperforms the competition no matter what. There's no doubt that this is a better way!
